Arthur Epstein (left, front) is a leader in the field of spintronics. (Source: OSU/Epstein Group)

Spintronics memory and other circuits could prevent devices like the iPad from overheating and having to take a trip to the freezer. (Source: ImageFrog)

New plastic device stores information using magnetism, could eventually replace traditional memory

When
people think of a magnetic strip performing a useful purpose, the
first thing to pop into mind might be the little strip on the back of
their credit or debit cards. Now a new type of magnetic
technology could transform the way our computers
run.

Researchers at Ohio State University claim to have
created the world's first functioning plastic "spintronics"
device. "Spintronics" is
a field of electronics dealing with controlling the spins of
electrons to store information. Spintronics is viewed as
a possible
replacement to traditional silicon flash memory and even
processing electronics. The new technology uses less space,
processes data faster, and consumes less power than its silicon
brethren.

OSU's implementation of an organic spintronics
device used a thin strip of dark blue organic-based magnet, layered
with an iron based ferromagnet, and attached to two electrical
leads.

Arthur
J. Epstein, Distinguished University Professor
of physics and chemistry and
director of theInstitute
for Magnetic and Electronic Polymers at Ohio State, led the
study. The key to it, he says, was the magnetic polymer
semiconductor vanadium tetracyanoethanide which he developed with
long-standing collaborator Joel S. Miller of the University of Utah.
Vanadium tetracyanoethanide is the first organic-based magnet that
operates above room temperature. It is perhaps fitting that
this revolutionary material was applied to such a revolutionary field
of computing.

Why are spintronics circuits so promising?
Typical electric circuits use differing levels of charge to assign a
logical value of 0 or 1. To operate, computers much shuffle
charge around, flipping bits. The transfer of electricity
creates a great deal of waste heat -- hence the metal coolers and
fans on your computer's processors (or the reason a fan-less
iPad shuts
down on a sunny summer day).

Spintronics, by
contrast, assign 0s and 1s based on which spin most of the electrons
in the component have. Changing the spin simply requires the
application of a magnetic field -- a process that creates much less
heat than transferring charge, and can potentially use less energy.
It also results in a higher circuit density as twice as much
information can be stored per electron.

Epsetin remarks,
"Spintronics is often just seen as a way to get more information
out of an electron, but really it’s about moving to the next
generation of electronics. We could solve many of the problems facing
computers today by using spintronics."

"We would
love to take portable electronics to a spin platform. Think
about soldiers in the field who have to carry heavy battery packs, or
even civilian ‘road warriors’ commuting to meetings. If we had a
lighter weight spintronic device which operates itself at a lower
energy cost, and if we could make it on a flexible polymer display,
soldiers and other users could just roll it up and carry it. We see
this portable technology as a powerful platform for helping
people."

To test the device's recording capabilities the
researchers exposed it to an alternating magnetic field. They
then measured the electric current passing through the devices
magnetic layers (the organic polymer and a base inorganic metallic
film).

The best part of all is that the patented technology
should be easy to commercialize using existing processes. OSU
postdoctoral researcher Jung-Woo
Yoo, who played a key role in the study states, "Any place
that makes computer chips could do this. Plus, in this case, we made
the device at room temperature, and the process is very
eco-friendly."